Preserving a piece of US Maritime History - invaluable

The USS Olympia is a cruiser that fought in the Spanish American War in 1898 and has been preserved in Philadelphia. She's a one of a kind ship, a national historic monument, and in danger. She needs approximately $10-15 million in repairs to keep her a viable museum for years to come. If you have the resources, or connections to those resources, please consider helping. (full disclosure - there is no financial benefit to me to ask the question - we need to save this ship for posterity). Please contact me at 612-599-1935 or bdskon@fedex.com if you have additional questions.

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Memorial Day 2011 - My attempt at honoring those service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice for FREEDOM, and to those volunteering to defend liberty

The 9-11 Memorial

The 9-11 Memorial

The 9-11 Memorial looking back at the US Air Force Memorial
It appears they placed it right in the flight path the terrorists took - like sticking it to them (nice job!)

Arlington Cemetary from the US Air Force Memorial

The Battlefields of Yorktown, where the Revolutionary War effectively ended
British Trenches in the foreground, American Trenches across the field

From an US Army Air Corps Airman, Sergeant Carl Goldman
US Air Force Memorial

The USS Cole DDG 67 in 2009

Commissioning Day CVN 77

Commissioning Day CVN 77

The US Marine Memorial

The US Marine Memorial

The US Marine Memorial

Moore House, where the British surrendered at Yorktown, effectively ending the Revolutionay War
And the beginning of the great Democratic Experience began

The ex-USS Wisconsin, Norfolk, VA

CVN 77 and CVN 65
Oldest and Newest carriers, now serving in the same general area
5th and 6th Fleet

The Missing Man Formation
US Air Force Memorial

Friday, May 27, 2011

Boone is back there

STRAIT OF MAGELLAN (May 26, 2011) The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates USS Boone (FFG 28), left, and USS Thach (FFG 43) are anchored in the Strait of Magellan. Boone and Thach are deployed supporting Southern Seas 2011. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Stuart Phillips/Released)

France and UK Deploy Attack Helicopters to Libya (UPDATED)

http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/820/?SID=48c497e9adf0f38fb31c776835ca1aad

Seventy-One Shots: The Death of Jose Guereña - Jose Guereña survived two tours in Iraq, but he couldn't survive his own government.

An outrage - this sheriff has got to go.  He's a moron!!

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/americas-overmilitarized-police-claim-another-innocent-life/

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik infamously railed in January of this year that Arizona is a “Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”

One must wonder if the “prejudice and bigotry” he considers endemic to Arizona is to blame for the death of U.S. Marine veteran Jose Guereña, killed when Dupnik’s deputies gunned him down in his home. They fired 71 shots. They hit him 60 times. And then, as if this wasn’t enough, Dupnik’s deputies blocked paramedics for an hour and 14 minutes from approaching the scene, denying Guereña treatment until he was assuredly dead.

Dupnik’s SWAT team initially claimed that Guereña fired at them while they were serving a warrant — as he slept. They claimed that his bullets hit the bulletproof shield that the entry team hid behind, and that the barrage of bullets they fired back was in self-defense.
Only, Guereña never fired his weapon. Awoken by his wife with screams that men with guns were invading his home and threatening his family, Jose Guereña armed himself with a AR-15 rifle and crouched in the hallway. The SWAT team unloaded upon Guereña on sight. He apparently recognized the home invaders as police. He took 60 rounds, but never — as the Pima County Sheriff’s Department was forced to admit — took off his weapon’s safety as he was being killed.

San Diego shipyard gets 2 ship orders - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

San Diego shipyard gets 2 ship orders - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

House passes $690 billion defense bill - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

House passes $690 billion defense bill - Air Force News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Blue Angels CO resigns after leading low flyover - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Blue Angels CO resigns after leading low flyover - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times




Pilots pause their F/A-18F Super Hornet in front of the island after making the 400,000th arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65).

Pilots pause their F/A-18F Super Hornet in front of the island after making the 400,000th arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65).ARABIAN SEA (May 24, 2011) Navy pilot Lt. Matthew L. Enoch and weapon systems officer Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Welsh, assigned to the Red Rippers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, pause their F/A-18F Super Hornet in front of the island after making the 400,000th arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Enterprise is the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to reach this milestone. Enterprise and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 are conducting close-air support missions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brooks B. Patton Jr./Released)

USS New York

The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) participates in the Parade of Ships during Fleet Week 2011 parade of ships.

USS New York (LPD 21) transits the Hudson River during Fleet Week 2011 parade of ships.
NEW YORK (May 25, 2011) The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) participates in the Parade of Ships during Fleet Week 2011 parade of ships. Fleet Week has been New York City's celebration of the sea services since 1984. It is an opportunity for citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen, as well as see first-hand, the latest capabilities of today's maritime services. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Patrick Gordon/Released)

Marines and Sailors man the rails aboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD) as it passes USS New York (LPD 21).

Marines and Sailors salute New York as the ship transits the New York Harbor during Fleet Week 2011 parade of ships.
NEW YORK (May 25, 2011) Marines and Sailors man the rails aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD) as the ship passes near the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) as it transits the New York Harbor during Fleet Week 2011 parade of ships. New York has 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center towers forged into her bow and is participating in the 24th annual Fleet Week New York. More than 3000 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen will participate in community events and military demonstrations throughout the city. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Randall A. Clinton/Released)

Check out Memorial Day: Who Do You Remember?

 Memorial Day: Who Do You Remember?

Check out A Peek Into the CNO’s Crystal Ball

 A Peek Into the CNO’s Crystal Ball

Medvedev Uncorks a Stunner on U.S. Missile Defense Shield

Arab states play limited role in battle against Muammar Gaddafi's regime

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/22/arab-states-battle-against-gaddafi

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

U.S. Military May Deploy F-35 Before Formal IOC - Defense News

U.S. Military May Deploy F-35 Before Formal IOC - Defense News

USNS Ceasar Chavez?

http://blog.usni.org/2011/05/17/tell-us-what-you-think-u-s-s-cesar-chavez/#comments

To be up front w/all of you:  I do not approve.  I would approve 25 Hispanic MOH winners their due and provide them w/a named ship.

Joint Strike Fighter Makes First Air Show Appearance

Joint Strike Fighter Makes First Air Show Appearance

Enterprise Lands 400,000th Aircraft

Enterprise Lands 400,000th Aircraft

Big E making history!!

Blue Angels cancel Annapolis events - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Blue Angels cancel Annapolis events - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

The Crew of Precommissioning Unit Minnesota SSN 783

Sunday, May 22, 2011

WWII POW from Norfolk receives burial at sea aboard Bataan - USS Perch survivor SS 176

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/05/wwii-pow-norfolk-receives-burial-sea-aboard-bataan

http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-perch-176.htm

'USS Perch was forced to scuttle herself after being mortally wounded in a depth charge attack.  All crew members were picked up by the Japanese, and sent to Prisoner of War camps.  Six crew members of USS Perch (SS-176) died as Prisoners of War'

Crew of USS Perch SS-176 That Died as POWs
Charles Newton Brown
Philip James Dewes
Houston Ernest Edwards
Frank Elmer McCreary
Albert Kenneth Newsome
Robert Archibald Wilson
USS Perch (SS-176)